The densely populated Gaza Strip has long lacked sufficient drinking water, but a new project helps ease the shortage with a solar-powered process to extract potable water straight from the air. Unusually, the project operating in the Islamist-run Palestinian enclave, which has been blockaded by Israel since 2007, is the brainchild of a Russian-Israeli billionaire, Michael Mirilashvili.
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
Warming driving Eastern Mediterranean species collapse: study
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Paris (AFP)
Populations of marine molluscs have collapsed in recent decades in parts of the eastern Mediterranean as warming waters have made conditions unsuitable for native species, new research showed Wednesday.
The waters off the coast of Israel -- among the hottest in the Mediterranean -- have already warmed three degrees Celsius within four decades, with water temperatures regularly topping 30C (86 Fahrenheit) in summer.
An international team of researchers, writing in the journal Proceedings of Royal Society B, investigated the effect these warmer waters was having on local populations of marine mollusks, as well as the arrival of invasive species from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.
Paolo Albano, from the University of Vienna's Department of Paleontology, initially set out to contrast populations of local and non-native species along the Israeli shelf in the eastern Mediterranean.
But he quickly realised the extent to which local mollusc populations had declined.
"My expectation was to find a Mediterranean ecosystem with these 'newcomers'," he told AFP.
"However, after the first dive, I immediately realised that the problem was another one: the lack of the native Mediterranean species, even the most common ones that you would find everywhere in the Mediterranean."
- Local 'eradication of species' -
Albano and his colleagues compared mollusc populations identified from more than 100 seabed samples with historical records, finding that only 12 percent of the mollusks historically present in shallow sediment were still there.
On rocky reefs, that figure stood at just five percent.
The team also estimated that 60 percent of the remaining mollusc populations studied do not reach reproductive size, rendering the region a "demographic sink" for some species.
Albano said that while other factors could be playing a role in these population collapses, not least the impact of non-native species and pollution, the overall trend was likely caused by warming seas.
"Tolerance to temperature is what really matters here and most of the native Mediterranean species are in the easternmost Mediterranean Sea at the limits of their tolerance to temperature," he said.
In contrast to local molluscs, populations of tropical species entering the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal were thriving.
This species turnover is causing the onset of a "novel ecosystem", the authors said, and the massive loss of native species is likely too significant to rectify.
Albano said the Eastern Mediterranean was "paradigmatic of what is happening in marine ecosystems due to global warming: species respond to warming by shifting their ranges and in some areas this means local eradication of species."
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
The waters off the coast of Israel are among the hottest in the Mediterranean and they have already warmed 3C within four decades
MENAHEM KAHANA AFP/File
Paris (AFP)
Populations of marine molluscs have collapsed in recent decades in parts of the eastern Mediterranean as warming waters have made conditions unsuitable for native species, new research showed Wednesday.
The waters off the coast of Israel -- among the hottest in the Mediterranean -- have already warmed three degrees Celsius within four decades, with water temperatures regularly topping 30C (86 Fahrenheit) in summer.
An international team of researchers, writing in the journal Proceedings of Royal Society B, investigated the effect these warmer waters was having on local populations of marine mollusks, as well as the arrival of invasive species from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal.
Paolo Albano, from the University of Vienna's Department of Paleontology, initially set out to contrast populations of local and non-native species along the Israeli shelf in the eastern Mediterranean.
But he quickly realised the extent to which local mollusc populations had declined.
"My expectation was to find a Mediterranean ecosystem with these 'newcomers'," he told AFP.
"However, after the first dive, I immediately realised that the problem was another one: the lack of the native Mediterranean species, even the most common ones that you would find everywhere in the Mediterranean."
- Local 'eradication of species' -
Albano and his colleagues compared mollusc populations identified from more than 100 seabed samples with historical records, finding that only 12 percent of the mollusks historically present in shallow sediment were still there.
On rocky reefs, that figure stood at just five percent.
The team also estimated that 60 percent of the remaining mollusc populations studied do not reach reproductive size, rendering the region a "demographic sink" for some species.
Albano said that while other factors could be playing a role in these population collapses, not least the impact of non-native species and pollution, the overall trend was likely caused by warming seas.
"Tolerance to temperature is what really matters here and most of the native Mediterranean species are in the easternmost Mediterranean Sea at the limits of their tolerance to temperature," he said.
In contrast to local molluscs, populations of tropical species entering the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal were thriving.
This species turnover is causing the onset of a "novel ecosystem", the authors said, and the massive loss of native species is likely too significant to rectify.
Albano said the Eastern Mediterranean was "paradigmatic of what is happening in marine ecosystems due to global warming: species respond to warming by shifting their ranges and in some areas this means local eradication of species."
© 2021 AFP
French baker on hunger strike to protest deportation order FOR HIS APPRENTICE
Issued on: 06/01/2020
Issued on: 06/01/2020
French baker Stephane Ravacley says he hasn't eaten since Sunday.
SEBASTIEN BOZON AFP
Besançon (France) (AFP)
Vowing not to be tempted by his own baguettes or cakes, a French baker has begun a hunger strike in eastern France to protest the planned deportation of his young Guinean apprentice.
Despite the constant temptations found in his "Huche a Pain" bakery in the town of Besancon, Stephane Ravacley says he has not eaten since midnight on Sunday and will continue in order to fight for his employee.
"My doctor tells me I'm in a fragile state, but I don't care. I know I'm right," the 50-year-old told AFP, adding that he has a history of blood circulation problems in his lungs.
Ravacley has spent more than a year training his apprentice -- "a good kid" -- whom he took on as a teenager in September 2019 after he had arrived in France as an unaccompanied minor.
But having recently turned 18, the young Guinean has been informed he faces being sent back to his homeland in West Africa.
The mayor of Besancon, Anne Vignot, has written to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asking for clemency, saying in her letter that "the desire to expel this future baker is incomprehensible".
His appeal against the deportation order will be heard on January 26 at a court in Besancon.
In 2019, France deported around 24,000 people. Around 140,000 people were given refugee status, including 5,000 from Guinea, while 113,000 foreigners gained French nationality, according to figures from the French interior ministry.
© 2021 AFP
Besançon (France) (AFP)
Vowing not to be tempted by his own baguettes or cakes, a French baker has begun a hunger strike in eastern France to protest the planned deportation of his young Guinean apprentice.
Despite the constant temptations found in his "Huche a Pain" bakery in the town of Besancon, Stephane Ravacley says he has not eaten since midnight on Sunday and will continue in order to fight for his employee.
"My doctor tells me I'm in a fragile state, but I don't care. I know I'm right," the 50-year-old told AFP, adding that he has a history of blood circulation problems in his lungs.
Ravacley has spent more than a year training his apprentice -- "a good kid" -- whom he took on as a teenager in September 2019 after he had arrived in France as an unaccompanied minor.
But having recently turned 18, the young Guinean has been informed he faces being sent back to his homeland in West Africa.
The mayor of Besancon, Anne Vignot, has written to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin asking for clemency, saying in her letter that "the desire to expel this future baker is incomprehensible".
His appeal against the deportation order will be heard on January 26 at a court in Besancon.
In 2019, France deported around 24,000 people. Around 140,000 people were given refugee status, including 5,000 from Guinea, while 113,000 foreigners gained French nationality, according to figures from the French interior ministry.
© 2021 AFP
Why do the latest mass arrests in Hong Kong matter?
Issued on: 06/01/2021 - 12:38
Hong Kong (AFP)
China has moved to crush Hong Kong's democracy movement in recent months but Wednesday's mass arrest of democracy figures for subversion under Beijing's new national security law was particularly momentous.
Here's why.
What's so significant about this operation?
The most eye-catching element is the scale of the crackdown and the variety of figures caught in the dragnet.
Prior to Wednesday, around 30 people had been arrested under the new security law since its imposition in late June last year.
That figure was eclipsed in a single day with 53 simultaneous arrests carried out by more than 1,000 officers.
The list of those rounded up is a who's who of the democratic opposition, from elderly veterans and youth activists, to lawyers, academics and social workers.
In a first, it also includes an American national.
Bail is not usually granted for those charged with security crimes and offences can carry up to life in prison.
What is subversion?
Subversion is one of the four new crimes outlawed by the security law.
The others are secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.
Beijing says the law is needed to return stability to Hong Kong after huge democracy protests in 2019 and says other countries also have similar security laws.
But few contain the kind of catch-all wording China uses.
The definition of subversion, for example, includes any attempt to "seriously interfere in or disrupt" the government.
Wednesday's arrests reveal Hong Kong authorities have decided that an unofficial primary election organised last year by pro-democracy groups was subversion and therefore a national security crime.
Why would a primary be a security crime?
A primary is a process in which voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates to compete in a future election.
In 2020, Hong Kong's pro-democracy coalition groups held an unofficial primary to choose their candidates for upcoming legislative elections.
The 70-seat body is only half directly elected, a system that all but guarantees pro-government control.
But democracy supporters had been hoping to take all 35 electable seats by capitalising on swirling anger towards the city's pro-Beijing leaders after the protests of 2019.
After that, they could try to block legislation or even force a vote of no confidence in Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
In the end, the election was postponed for a year with authorities blaming the coronavirus.
But Beijing decided the campaign was nonetheless subversion.
What's the reaction been so far?
Hong Kong and Beijing have defended the move.
BECAUSE THEY ARE REACTIONARY ATTACKS ON THE GAINS OF THE BOURGEOIS REVOLUTION
Issued on: 06/01/2021 - 12:38
Hong Kong police carried out mass arrests of opposition figures on Wednesday for subversion under the new security law Peter PARKS AFP
Hong Kong (AFP)
China has moved to crush Hong Kong's democracy movement in recent months but Wednesday's mass arrest of democracy figures for subversion under Beijing's new national security law was particularly momentous.
Here's why.
What's so significant about this operation?
The most eye-catching element is the scale of the crackdown and the variety of figures caught in the dragnet.
Prior to Wednesday, around 30 people had been arrested under the new security law since its imposition in late June last year.
That figure was eclipsed in a single day with 53 simultaneous arrests carried out by more than 1,000 officers.
The list of those rounded up is a who's who of the democratic opposition, from elderly veterans and youth activists, to lawyers, academics and social workers.
In a first, it also includes an American national.
Bail is not usually granted for those charged with security crimes and offences can carry up to life in prison.
What is subversion?
Subversion is one of the four new crimes outlawed by the security law.
The others are secession, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.
Beijing says the law is needed to return stability to Hong Kong after huge democracy protests in 2019 and says other countries also have similar security laws.
But few contain the kind of catch-all wording China uses.
The definition of subversion, for example, includes any attempt to "seriously interfere in or disrupt" the government.
Wednesday's arrests reveal Hong Kong authorities have decided that an unofficial primary election organised last year by pro-democracy groups was subversion and therefore a national security crime.
Why would a primary be a security crime?
A primary is a process in which voters cast ballots for their preferred candidates to compete in a future election.
In 2020, Hong Kong's pro-democracy coalition groups held an unofficial primary to choose their candidates for upcoming legislative elections.
The 70-seat body is only half directly elected, a system that all but guarantees pro-government control.
But democracy supporters had been hoping to take all 35 electable seats by capitalising on swirling anger towards the city's pro-Beijing leaders after the protests of 2019.
After that, they could try to block legislation or even force a vote of no confidence in Chief Executive Carrie Lam.
In the end, the election was postponed for a year with authorities blaming the coronavirus.
But Beijing decided the campaign was nonetheless subversion.
What's the reaction been so far?
Hong Kong and Beijing have defended the move.
The city's security minister, John Lee, said those arrested were trying to "sink Hong Kong into an abyss".
Beijing's Liaison Office said those facing prosecution "strategically organised or implemented a plan to paralyse the government".
Opposition figures are horrified.
They say the subversion charges prove that virtually any opposition to government policy is now deemed a security crime.
"Trying to stand in an election, publishing your political ideals, organising public gatherings and expressing your preference in an unofficial primary survey are all considered attempts to 'subvert the state's power'," the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a body largely made up of overseas exiles, said in a statement.
Amnesty International said the arrests "illustrate how the broad scope of the law allows it to be applied in circumstances that do not qualify as genuine threats to national security."
Hong Kong is a major international business hub.
So far most business organisations have stayed quiet about the crackdown, fearful of incurring Beijing's wrath.
Kristian Odebjer, chair of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, was a rare exception Wednesday.
"HK political crackdown is having a significant negative impact on business," he wrote on Twitter.
"Legitimate questions about rule of law raised and as HK image deteriorates, it becomes more and more difficult to defend why you should maintain costly operations here."
© 2021 AFP
Beijing's Liaison Office said those facing prosecution "strategically organised or implemented a plan to paralyse the government".
Opposition figures are horrified.
They say the subversion charges prove that virtually any opposition to government policy is now deemed a security crime.
"Trying to stand in an election, publishing your political ideals, organising public gatherings and expressing your preference in an unofficial primary survey are all considered attempts to 'subvert the state's power'," the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a body largely made up of overseas exiles, said in a statement.
Amnesty International said the arrests "illustrate how the broad scope of the law allows it to be applied in circumstances that do not qualify as genuine threats to national security."
Hong Kong is a major international business hub.
So far most business organisations have stayed quiet about the crackdown, fearful of incurring Beijing's wrath.
Kristian Odebjer, chair of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, was a rare exception Wednesday.
"HK political crackdown is having a significant negative impact on business," he wrote on Twitter.
"Legitimate questions about rule of law raised and as HK image deteriorates, it becomes more and more difficult to defend why you should maintain costly operations here."
© 2021 AFP
Hazara Shiites refuse to bury dead as Pakistan protest continues
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Shiite Muslims carry placards during a protest against the killing of Hazara miners claimed by the Islamic State group Rizwan TABASSUM AFP
Quetta (Pakistan) (AFP)
Hundreds of mourners in Pakistan protested Wednesday for a fourth day alongside the bodies of miners killed in a brutal attack claimed by the Islamic State group, as officials urged them to bury their dead.
Up to 2,500 people from the minority Shiite Hazara community have since Sunday blocked a road on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of oil and gas-rich Balochistan province, demanding better protection.
There were also protests in the port city of Karachi.
Ten miners were kidnapped by gunmen from a remote colliery before being taken to nearby hills where most were shot dead.
Some were beheaded, said officials who did not want to be named.
The community's refusal to bury the bodies is symbolic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where according to Islamic culture people should be buried within 24 hours, before the next sunset.
"This is systematic ethnic cleansing of Hazaras in Balochistan and our security forces are behaving like lame ducks, doing nothing," said Zainab Ahman, an activist among the mourners.
Ethnic Hazaras make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
Quetta (Pakistan) (AFP)
Hundreds of mourners in Pakistan protested Wednesday for a fourth day alongside the bodies of miners killed in a brutal attack claimed by the Islamic State group, as officials urged them to bury their dead.
Up to 2,500 people from the minority Shiite Hazara community have since Sunday blocked a road on the outskirts of Quetta, capital of oil and gas-rich Balochistan province, demanding better protection.
There were also protests in the port city of Karachi.
Ten miners were kidnapped by gunmen from a remote colliery before being taken to nearby hills where most were shot dead.
Some were beheaded, said officials who did not want to be named.
The community's refusal to bury the bodies is symbolic in Muslim-majority Pakistan, where according to Islamic culture people should be buried within 24 hours, before the next sunset.
"This is systematic ethnic cleansing of Hazaras in Balochistan and our security forces are behaving like lame ducks, doing nothing," said Zainab Ahman, an activist among the mourners.
Ethnic Hazaras make up most of the Shiite population in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan -- the country's largest and poorest region, rife with ethnic, sectarian and separatist insurgencies.
IT SHOULD BE AN AUTONOMOUS COUNTRY WHICH PAKISTAN WILL NOT ALLOW
Their Central Asian features make them easy targets for Sunni militants who consider them heretics.
Two ministers, representing Prime Minister Imran Khan, flew to Quetta on Wednesday to try to convince the mourners to end the protest.
Khan tweeted that the government was taking steps to prevent such attacks, but gave no details.
"Please bury your loved ones so their souls find peace," he added.
Two of the miners were Afghans and their bodies returned home for burial, a local security official told AFP.
The attack was claimed by Sunni extremist group IS, according to SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadist activities worldwide.
IS is affiliated with the local militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which itself had links to Pakistan's Taliban.
Pakistani officials have long denied the presence of IS in the country, but the group has claimed a number of attacks including a bombing at a vegetable market in 2019.
© 2021 AFP
Their Central Asian features make them easy targets for Sunni militants who consider them heretics.
Two ministers, representing Prime Minister Imran Khan, flew to Quetta on Wednesday to try to convince the mourners to end the protest.
Khan tweeted that the government was taking steps to prevent such attacks, but gave no details.
"Please bury your loved ones so their souls find peace," he added.
Two of the miners were Afghans and their bodies returned home for burial, a local security official told AFP.
The attack was claimed by Sunni extremist group IS, according to SITE Intelligence, which monitors jihadist activities worldwide.
IS is affiliated with the local militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which itself had links to Pakistan's Taliban.
Pakistani officials have long denied the presence of IS in the country, but the group has claimed a number of attacks including a bombing at a vegetable market in 2019.
© 2021 AFP
SEE
Rival teams race to be first for winter summit of 'savage mountain' K2
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Since the first attempt in 1987-1988, only a handful of winter expeditions have been made on K2 NONE OF THEM SUCCESFUL AT REACHING THE TOP
AMELIE HERENSTEIN AFP/File
Islamabad (AFP)
Dozens of mountaineers have converged on Pakistan's mighty K2 peak, vying to conquer one of the world's last major climbing challenges -- reaching the summit in winter.
Four teams with around 60 climbers and sherpas between them have begun climbing the world's second-highest peak -- known as the "savage mountain" -- where winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).
Since the first attempt in 1987-1988, only a handful of winter expeditions have been made on the 8,611-metre (28,250-feet) mountain in the Karakoram massif on the Chinese border. None of them have got above 7,650 metres.
Even in summer, almost one in six climbers who attempt the summit die, and since the first success in 1954 only 450 people have managed it -- compared to more than 6,000 who have scaled Mount Everest.
Lockdowns and travel bans sparked by the coronavirus outbreak mean the summer climbing season last year was a washout in Pakistan and other popular climbing destinations in the region, such as Nepal.
"People had plans for the year but they couldn't go anywhere," said Dutch mountaineer Arnold Coster, who is helping to lead one of the expeditions.
"So we've been kind of jobless for a year and now lots of people want to do something," he told AFP.
Although Pakistan is still battling more than 2,000 fresh coronavirus cases a day, the country has reopened.
Throughout December, the teams flew into the northern town of Skardu and trekked over the Baltoro Glacier to reach base camp, from where they will begin the ascent -- an expedition that could take up to two and a half months in total depending on the weather.
- Egos and avalanches -
K2 is set amongst some of the most breathtaking landscapes the world has to offer -- and some of the most dangerous.
"Multiple factors must fall in line for anyone to have a chance of summiting," said climbing coach Alan Arnette, who points to altitude sickness, avalanches and landslides -- as well as egos -- as potential pitfalls.
Coster's expedition, organised by Nepalese company Seven Summit Treks, stands out with its supersize team of around 20 clients of varying experience and around 30 support staff.
Together, they will have to accommodate differing ambitions, including those who do not want the help of sherpas or oxygen.
"We have a lot of different people with different ideas. For us, as leaders, it's difficult to manage. But from a manpower point of view, if people work together, we have a bigger chance," said Coster.
Climbers spend days going up and down attaching ropes to the mountain to help them reach the top and also acclimatise to the thinning air -- particularly tiring work for small groups.
One trekker has already been airlifted from base camp because of a pre-existing health condition, the company said.
- Concerns of crowding -
Mingma Gyalje has climbed 13 of the highest peaks but failed to reach the K2 summit last winter.
This year he is heading an all-Nepalese team of three experienced sherpas.
Gyalje is a contender to summit this time, better prepared for the cold after his harsh lesson last year -- but concerned about sharing a crowded mountainside with other teams.
"I don't feel like it's a good sign having so many people, too many clients," he told AFP.
"It puts pressure on the staff. Because there are people in the team who don’t want to go back without reaching the summit."
Many mountaineers shared the same concerns, fearing some of the climbers are not sufficiently prepared.
Of the other two expeditions, one is led by Nirmal Purja, a star Nepalese climber and former British special forces serviceman who has set his team of six apart with a plan to paraglide off the summit.
In 2019, Purja scaled all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains in six months and six days -- however, that was in the summer.
The fourth team is an Icelandic-Pakistani pairing of three.
With so many people on K2 this winter, the chances are good that at least one person will reach the top, said Arnette, the climbing coach.
"However, almost everything must go practically perfect," he said.
"And that rarely happens on an 8,000-metre peak, much less on K2."
© 2021 AFP
Islamabad (AFP)
Dozens of mountaineers have converged on Pakistan's mighty K2 peak, vying to conquer one of the world's last major climbing challenges -- reaching the summit in winter.
Four teams with around 60 climbers and sherpas between them have begun climbing the world's second-highest peak -- known as the "savage mountain" -- where winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour (125 miles per hour) and temperatures drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).
Since the first attempt in 1987-1988, only a handful of winter expeditions have been made on the 8,611-metre (28,250-feet) mountain in the Karakoram massif on the Chinese border. None of them have got above 7,650 metres.
Even in summer, almost one in six climbers who attempt the summit die, and since the first success in 1954 only 450 people have managed it -- compared to more than 6,000 who have scaled Mount Everest.
Lockdowns and travel bans sparked by the coronavirus outbreak mean the summer climbing season last year was a washout in Pakistan and other popular climbing destinations in the region, such as Nepal.
"People had plans for the year but they couldn't go anywhere," said Dutch mountaineer Arnold Coster, who is helping to lead one of the expeditions.
"So we've been kind of jobless for a year and now lots of people want to do something," he told AFP.
Although Pakistan is still battling more than 2,000 fresh coronavirus cases a day, the country has reopened.
Throughout December, the teams flew into the northern town of Skardu and trekked over the Baltoro Glacier to reach base camp, from where they will begin the ascent -- an expedition that could take up to two and a half months in total depending on the weather.
- Egos and avalanches -
K2 is set amongst some of the most breathtaking landscapes the world has to offer -- and some of the most dangerous.
"Multiple factors must fall in line for anyone to have a chance of summiting," said climbing coach Alan Arnette, who points to altitude sickness, avalanches and landslides -- as well as egos -- as potential pitfalls.
Coster's expedition, organised by Nepalese company Seven Summit Treks, stands out with its supersize team of around 20 clients of varying experience and around 30 support staff.
Together, they will have to accommodate differing ambitions, including those who do not want the help of sherpas or oxygen.
"We have a lot of different people with different ideas. For us, as leaders, it's difficult to manage. But from a manpower point of view, if people work together, we have a bigger chance," said Coster.
Climbers spend days going up and down attaching ropes to the mountain to help them reach the top and also acclimatise to the thinning air -- particularly tiring work for small groups.
One trekker has already been airlifted from base camp because of a pre-existing health condition, the company said.
- Concerns of crowding -
Mingma Gyalje has climbed 13 of the highest peaks but failed to reach the K2 summit last winter.
This year he is heading an all-Nepalese team of three experienced sherpas.
Gyalje is a contender to summit this time, better prepared for the cold after his harsh lesson last year -- but concerned about sharing a crowded mountainside with other teams.
"I don't feel like it's a good sign having so many people, too many clients," he told AFP.
"It puts pressure on the staff. Because there are people in the team who don’t want to go back without reaching the summit."
Many mountaineers shared the same concerns, fearing some of the climbers are not sufficiently prepared.
Of the other two expeditions, one is led by Nirmal Purja, a star Nepalese climber and former British special forces serviceman who has set his team of six apart with a plan to paraglide off the summit.
In 2019, Purja scaled all fourteen of the world’s 8,000-metre mountains in six months and six days -- however, that was in the summer.
The fourth team is an Icelandic-Pakistani pairing of three.
With so many people on K2 this winter, the chances are good that at least one person will reach the top, said Arnette, the climbing coach.
"However, almost everything must go practically perfect," he said.
"And that rarely happens on an 8,000-metre peak, much less on K2."
© 2021 AFP
WHO virus mission to China in disarray
as entry denied
Issued on: 06/01/2021
The WHO team was set to try and track down how the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China NOEL CELIS AFP/File
3 min
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Geneva (AFP)
An expert mission to China to find the origins of the coronavirus pandemic stumbled before it even began, with the head of the World Health Organization complaining that Beijing was blocking the team from entering the country.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" with the last-minute bar on entry, in a rare castigation of Beijing from the UN body.
A 10-strong team was due to arrive in China this week after months of painstaking negotiations.
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Beijing is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people so far and laid waste to global economies.
The first cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, prompting accusations of chaotic, secretive handling by Chinese authorities which led to its spread beyond China.
US President Donald Trump called the pandemic the "China virus".
But Beijing has so far resisted pressure for a full independent probe into the early days of the outbreak. Instead, it has seeded doubt as to whether the pandemic even started inside its borders.
The WHO mission was billed as a way to cut through the rancour and seek clear answers on how the virus jumped from animals to humans.
But with some of the team already in transit, Beijing had yet to grant them entry, the WHO chief said.
"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrivals in China," Tedros told reporters on Tuesday.
"I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute."
He stressed that he had been in contact with senior Chinese officials to make clear "that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team".
"I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment," Tedros added.
The mission was hugely sensitive and neither the WHO nor China had until now confirmed when specifically it was due to start.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told Tuesday's briefing that the problem was a lack of visa clearances.
"We trust and we hope that this is just a (logistical) and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly."
There was no immediate comment from China.
- 'Critical' mission -
"We were all operating on the on the understanding that the team would begin deployment today," he said, adding that two members of the team coming from far away had set off early Tuesday, before it became clear that the necessary approvals had not been received.
He stressed the "absolute critical nature" of the mission, acknowledging that the situation was "frustrating and... disappointing".
The origins of Covid-19 remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community -- as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of the virus narrative.
Scientists initially believed the virus jumped to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan.
But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.
It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown.
burs-apj/qan
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 06/01/2021
The WHO team was set to try and track down how the virus first appeared in Wuhan, China NOEL CELIS AFP/File3 min
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Geneva (AFP)
An expert mission to China to find the origins of the coronavirus pandemic stumbled before it even began, with the head of the World Health Organization complaining that Beijing was blocking the team from entering the country.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was "very disappointed" with the last-minute bar on entry, in a rare castigation of Beijing from the UN body.
A 10-strong team was due to arrive in China this week after months of painstaking negotiations.
ADVERTISING
Beijing is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people so far and laid waste to global economies.
The first cases of the coronavirus were recorded in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, prompting accusations of chaotic, secretive handling by Chinese authorities which led to its spread beyond China.
US President Donald Trump called the pandemic the "China virus".
But Beijing has so far resisted pressure for a full independent probe into the early days of the outbreak. Instead, it has seeded doubt as to whether the pandemic even started inside its borders.
The WHO mission was billed as a way to cut through the rancour and seek clear answers on how the virus jumped from animals to humans.
But with some of the team already in transit, Beijing had yet to grant them entry, the WHO chief said.
"Today, we learned that Chinese officials have not yet finalised the necessary permissions for the team's arrivals in China," Tedros told reporters on Tuesday.
"I am very disappointed with this news, given that two members had already begun their journeys and others were not able to travel at the last minute."
He stressed that he had been in contact with senior Chinese officials to make clear "that the mission is a priority for WHO and the international team".
"I have been assured that China is speeding up the internal procedure for the earliest possible deployment," Tedros added.
The mission was hugely sensitive and neither the WHO nor China had until now confirmed when specifically it was due to start.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told Tuesday's briefing that the problem was a lack of visa clearances.
"We trust and we hope that this is just a (logistical) and bureaucratic issue that can be resolved very quickly."
There was no immediate comment from China.
- 'Critical' mission -
"We were all operating on the on the understanding that the team would begin deployment today," he said, adding that two members of the team coming from far away had set off early Tuesday, before it became clear that the necessary approvals had not been received.
He stressed the "absolute critical nature" of the mission, acknowledging that the situation was "frustrating and... disappointing".
The origins of Covid-19 remain bitterly contested, lost in a fog of recriminations and conjecture from the international community -- as well as obfuscation from Chinese authorities determined to keep control of the virus narrative.
Scientists initially believed the virus jumped to humans at a market selling exotic animals for meat in the city of Wuhan.
But experts now think the market may not have been the origin of the outbreak, but rather a place where it was amplified.
It is widely assumed that the virus originally came from bats, but the intermediate animal host that transmitted it between bats and humans remains unknown.
burs-apj/qan
© 2021 AFP
Women cultivate a new voice in Indian farm protests
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Issued on: 06/01/2021 -
Although India's rural communities are traditionally male-dominated, women have played an active role in the recent farmer protests Sajjad HUSSAIN AFP
Kundli (India) (AFP)
India's rural landscape is notoriously male-dominated, but thousands of women have become a pillar of the farmer protests blocking roads into New Delhi that have become a huge challenge to the government.
Women of all occupations and ages -- from those who tend cattle or toil in the fields, to city professionals and grandmothers in wheelchairs -- are braving the freezing winter temperatures in a bid to make the government withdraw market reforms.
"I am fighting for my children and my grandchildren," said Parminder Kaur, 40, who chants slogans at rallies during the day, then in the evening helps make chapati flatbread and curry to feed the tens of thousands of protesters.
Women have traditionally been the silent backbone of Indian agriculture -- working the land without the influence that goes with it. Repeat studies have shown how they suffer from poverty, discrimination and domestic violence.
About 85 percent of women in rural areas have some kind of agricultural activity, yet only 13 percent own land, according to anti-poverty activist group Oxfam.
But Kaur was visibly proud at the way women were "walking shoulder-to-shoulder" with men to defend rural welfare.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been forced onto the back foot over three laws which allow farmers to sell their produce on the free market, after decades of channelling their wheat and rice through state-run markets with a guaranteed minimum price.
Modi insists the reforms will attract badly needed investment to a sector which employs about two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion population, but only contributes about 15 percent to its economy.
However, farmer leaders say the changes will lead to a takeover of the agriculture business by Indian conglomerates.
Kaur's family has two acres (about 8,000 square metres) of land where they grow wheat.
"This land is everything for us, it is like our mother," she said.
"They want to snatch our mother away from us, how can we allow this?"
- 'Tension and violence' fears -
Ranjana Kumari, who heads the Centre for Social Research, a Delhi-based non-profit group, said that while women do not own the land, they fear a cut in revenue will badly hit their households.
"When the family income falls, it affects women's health and wellbeing the most. Less income also means more tension and violence at the hands of men.
"That is why they are angry and vocal about these laws."
The women's active participation in the protests has been appreciated by the leaders.
Rana Bhatti, who is from a farming family in Haryana state, said the protests were a way for women to show their strength.
"I feel the time has come for us to take to the frontlines and steer the challenge against this arrogant government," said Bhatti as she led a group of women holding flags and placards. One read: "No farmers, no food, no future."
Kumari said that women are more politically aware than ever before, a trend that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has seized upon and credited with helping it to two landslide election wins.
"Looking at the way the women are joining these protests, it makes a statement about their aspirations and the need to be heard. They are saying we won't take things lying down."
The farmers' cause has drawn an urban contingent of female supporters too.
Dressed casually in jeans and a shawl, Jassi Sangha, 33, is an artist and filmmaker who has been at the protest since it started.
She helps bring out a bi-weekly newspaper for the farmers and organises education for children in the camp.
Sangha said she was drawn by the protest as soon as she heard about it: "I left my work and came, we have to fight or we are done."
The farmers' rudimentary camps have been blocking key highways since November 26, and the government has appealed to the protesters to send women, children and the elderly back home, as India endures one of the coldest winters in three decades.
But Kaur, who has two children, said she is staying "for the long haul".
"At least we can proudly tell future generations that we raised our voice."
© 2021 AFP
Kundli (India) (AFP)
India's rural landscape is notoriously male-dominated, but thousands of women have become a pillar of the farmer protests blocking roads into New Delhi that have become a huge challenge to the government.
Women of all occupations and ages -- from those who tend cattle or toil in the fields, to city professionals and grandmothers in wheelchairs -- are braving the freezing winter temperatures in a bid to make the government withdraw market reforms.
"I am fighting for my children and my grandchildren," said Parminder Kaur, 40, who chants slogans at rallies during the day, then in the evening helps make chapati flatbread and curry to feed the tens of thousands of protesters.
Women have traditionally been the silent backbone of Indian agriculture -- working the land without the influence that goes with it. Repeat studies have shown how they suffer from poverty, discrimination and domestic violence.
About 85 percent of women in rural areas have some kind of agricultural activity, yet only 13 percent own land, according to anti-poverty activist group Oxfam.
But Kaur was visibly proud at the way women were "walking shoulder-to-shoulder" with men to defend rural welfare.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been forced onto the back foot over three laws which allow farmers to sell their produce on the free market, after decades of channelling their wheat and rice through state-run markets with a guaranteed minimum price.
Modi insists the reforms will attract badly needed investment to a sector which employs about two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion population, but only contributes about 15 percent to its economy.
However, farmer leaders say the changes will lead to a takeover of the agriculture business by Indian conglomerates.
Kaur's family has two acres (about 8,000 square metres) of land where they grow wheat.
"This land is everything for us, it is like our mother," she said.
"They want to snatch our mother away from us, how can we allow this?"
- 'Tension and violence' fears -
Ranjana Kumari, who heads the Centre for Social Research, a Delhi-based non-profit group, said that while women do not own the land, they fear a cut in revenue will badly hit their households.
"When the family income falls, it affects women's health and wellbeing the most. Less income also means more tension and violence at the hands of men.
"That is why they are angry and vocal about these laws."
The women's active participation in the protests has been appreciated by the leaders.
Rana Bhatti, who is from a farming family in Haryana state, said the protests were a way for women to show their strength.
"I feel the time has come for us to take to the frontlines and steer the challenge against this arrogant government," said Bhatti as she led a group of women holding flags and placards. One read: "No farmers, no food, no future."
Kumari said that women are more politically aware than ever before, a trend that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party has seized upon and credited with helping it to two landslide election wins.
"Looking at the way the women are joining these protests, it makes a statement about their aspirations and the need to be heard. They are saying we won't take things lying down."
The farmers' cause has drawn an urban contingent of female supporters too.
Dressed casually in jeans and a shawl, Jassi Sangha, 33, is an artist and filmmaker who has been at the protest since it started.
She helps bring out a bi-weekly newspaper for the farmers and organises education for children in the camp.
Sangha said she was drawn by the protest as soon as she heard about it: "I left my work and came, we have to fight or we are done."
The farmers' rudimentary camps have been blocking key highways since November 26, and the government has appealed to the protesters to send women, children and the elderly back home, as India endures one of the coldest winters in three decades.
But Kaur, who has two children, said she is staying "for the long haul".
"At least we can proudly tell future generations that we raised our voice."
© 2021 AFP
Israel has rolled out its first vaccinations. With cases rising, the third nationwide shutdown is expected to be tightened. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza will receive vaccines at a later date.
An woman receives the BioNTech-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Beersheba
Two weeks after starting its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Israel leads the world in immunizations per capita. On Tuesday, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said 1.37 million Israelis had received their first doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine. Compared with other countries that started their immunization drives in December, Israel has become "a world champion in vaccinations," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
Vying for reelection in snap polls in March, Netanyahu is promising Israelis that the country could be the first to "emerge" from the coronavirus pandemic — provided that they take their jabs. A so-called green passport, which would allow more freedoms to people who have been vaccinated, has been dangled to encourage Israelis to enlist for vaccination. "I think there is a readiness in society to start coming out of it and to feel some control over their lives again," said Diane Levin-Zamir, a professor of public health at the University of Haifa. "The metaphor of a vaccine is just helping people to see that we are taking giant steps out of the corona pandemic."
The government had secured several million doses of the two-stage BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine early on. The Moderna vaccine was approved on Tuesday, but the first batches are not expected until March, according to the Health Ministry.
Israel has set up large COVID-19 vaccination centers such as this one in Tel Aviv
The fast rollout of immunization is thanks in part to the relatively small size of Israel, the provision of vaccines and the country's digitized health care system. Every citizen has to register with one of the four nongovernmental health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide care. Now, clinics, hospitals and makeshift vaccination centers are working almost 24/7 to administer the shots. "Israel has this infrastructure that on the one hand is very community-oriented," said Levin-Zamir, who also works as director of the department of health education at the HMO Clalit. "It is very dispersed — there are many primary care clinics in every neighborhood or small towns — but we also have the centralized health care system."
For now, anyone over 60, health care workers, caregivers and people with underlying health conditions are given priority. Stories of younger people simply walking into clinics or being called up to receive surplus doses of vaccine which would otherwise be wasted, have also circulated on social media. An opened BioNTech-Pfizer vial has to be used within a short time.
Coronavirus still spreading
Israel continues to struggle with a soaring coronavirus infection rate. The death toll stands currently at 3,445 people. Health officials have suggested that the third nationwide shutdown, which was imposed in December, would be tightened this week. "Full vaccination is only a week after the second dose," Health Minister Yuli Edelstein wrote on Twitter. "In the meantime, morbidity is rising quickly. Therefore, there's no choice but a full and fast closure."
The first immunizations have used the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, developed in Germany
As logistical, financial and political problems abound, it remains uncertain when vaccination will commence for the 5 million Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Both the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority-administered West Bank have seen rising infection rates in recent months. More than 1,600 people have died from COVID-19. The timing of this spike and media coverage of the vaccination campaign in Israel have Palestinians wondering when vaccination is planned for them. Some fear that immunizations will be delayed as rich countries inoculate populations first. Many have discussed Israel's responsibilities to immunize Palestinians in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have mostly access to the vaccination program through their local Israeli health care providers.
In an open letter, several Israeli human rights organizations appealed to the government, as the occupying power, to supply or to help fund vaccines for Palestinians. Some officials have suggested that the government might turn over any surplus once Israel's population has been vaccinated. Sources have pointed out that this would be in the national interest as thousands of Palestinians commute across the border daily or work in Israeli settlements.This would increase the pressure on the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to secure vaccines from different countries and pharmaceutical companies. The Russian-made Sputnik V and UK-produced AstraZeneca vaccines have been reported as possibilities. "We are trying our best to get vaccines and have made requests to several companies," said Dr. Yaser Bouzieh, the director-general of the Public Health Department at the Palestinian Health Ministry. There is no agreed timeline as of now, he added, but "we expect delivery by the end of February or in March."
In addition, the Palestinian Authority has signed up for a special partnership mechanism with the World Health Organization and the Gavi Vaccine Alliance. The WHO-administered COVAX program aims to help low-income countries to get an equitable share of vaccines. As such, it would help provide vaccines in stages for up to 20% of health care workers and people over 60 or who have preexisting conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. "We don't know exactly yet when vaccines will become available for distribution, as many potential vaccines are being studied and several large clinical trials are underway," said Gerald Rockenschaub, the head of office of the WHO office for the Palestinian territories. Ninety-two countries participating in the program are awaiting emergency use approval of the vaccines before distribution begins. "We estimate that it could be in early to mid-2021," Rockenschaub said.
In recent days, local media have reported that an expected temporary shortage of vaccine supplies would slow down the inoculation. "The Achilles' heel lies in the chain of supply of the vaccine in January," Amos Harel wrote recently in the newspaper Haaretz. To continue the successful campaign, Israel will need a steady supply of the pledged vaccines.
Leader of US right-wing Proud Boys group arrested over torched BLM banner
Jan 5, 2021
Enrique Tarrio was taken into custody and charged with destruction of property. Photo: AP
The chairman of the right-wing Proud Boys group has been arrested in Washington over the torching last month of a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a church during violent protests, US police said.
Enrique Tarrio, 36, was taken into custody as the US capital braced for demonstrations against certification this week of Joe Biden as the next US president.
Mr Tarrio – who had just arrived in the city from Florida – was charged with destruction of property at the Asbury United Methodist Church, a mainly African-American church where he and others allegedly burned the banner during violent protests on December 12.
He was hit with additional charges of possessing two illegal high-capacity firearm magazines at the time of his arrest, police said.
In a parallel court case unveiled on Monday, local time, Mr Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys were accused by the historic Metropolitan AME church – also mainly African-American – with tearing down and burning its banner during the protests last month.
“The conduct of the Proud Boys in Washington DC on December 12, 2020, amounted to a new and dangerous chapter in the long and terrible history of white supremacist mob violence targeting Black houses of worship,” the church said in its filing.
The arrest came ahead of protests planned on Tuesday and Wednesday by backers of President Donald Trump supporting his unfounded claim that he, and not Mr Biden, won the November 3 presidential election.
Washington police said they were worried about potential violence, particularly from groups like the Proud Boys, and warned that people carrying firearms would be arrested.
“We will not allow people to incite violence or intimidate our residents,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
–ABC/AFP
Jan 5, 2021
Enrique Tarrio was taken into custody and charged with destruction of property. Photo: AP
The chairman of the right-wing Proud Boys group has been arrested in Washington over the torching last month of a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a church during violent protests, US police said.
Enrique Tarrio, 36, was taken into custody as the US capital braced for demonstrations against certification this week of Joe Biden as the next US president.
Mr Tarrio – who had just arrived in the city from Florida – was charged with destruction of property at the Asbury United Methodist Church, a mainly African-American church where he and others allegedly burned the banner during violent protests on December 12.
He was hit with additional charges of possessing two illegal high-capacity firearm magazines at the time of his arrest, police said.
In a parallel court case unveiled on Monday, local time, Mr Tarrio and other members of the Proud Boys were accused by the historic Metropolitan AME church – also mainly African-American – with tearing down and burning its banner during the protests last month.
“The conduct of the Proud Boys in Washington DC on December 12, 2020, amounted to a new and dangerous chapter in the long and terrible history of white supremacist mob violence targeting Black houses of worship,” the church said in its filing.
The arrest came ahead of protests planned on Tuesday and Wednesday by backers of President Donald Trump supporting his unfounded claim that he, and not Mr Biden, won the November 3 presidential election.
Washington police said they were worried about potential violence, particularly from groups like the Proud Boys, and warned that people carrying firearms would be arrested.
“We will not allow people to incite violence or intimidate our residents,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
–ABC/AFP
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